Systems, methods and apparatus for providing an audio indicator via a remote control

ABSTRACT

Apparatus, systems and methods are described for outputting audible or visual indicators via a remote control for a controlled device. A remote control queries an associated controlled device for information. The controlled device generates a request for the remote control to activate an audio or visual indicator. The request is integrated with a response to the query that is transmitted to the remote control. The remote control outputs an audio or visual indicator responsive to the request.

BACKGROUND

The creation of the wireless television remote control simplified thetelevision viewing experience for most people, as viewers could remotelyoperate a television from the couch or other location away from thetelevision. Unfortunately, the wireless television remote controlcreated a new problem plaguing mankind—the lost remote control. Remotecontrols are easily misplaced, easily hidden under furniture and otherobjects and can be carried into many locations within a home, making itdifficult to locate a lost remote control. Thus, the viewer may spend asignificant amount of time trying to locate a lost remote control ratherthan watching television, leading to a less than desirable viewingexperience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The same number represents the same element or same type of element inall drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an entertainment system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a remote control of theentertainment system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a flow chart for a querying processperformed by the remote control and the entertainment device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an entertainment device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a process for locating a lost remotecontrol.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments described herein generally provide apparatus,systems and methods for providing audible or visual indicators via aremote control for a controlled device. More particularly, the variousembodiments described herein generally provide a remote control thatqueries an associated controlled device for information. Based on aresponse to the query, the remote control may output audio or visualindicators via integrated presentation devices.

In at least one embodiment, the remote control includes a sound emittingdevice, such a speaker or buzzer. The remote control transmits a queryto the controlled device and receives a response to the query, theresponse requesting activation of the sound emitting device. Responsiveto the request from the controlled device, the remote control activatesthe sound emitting device to output audible information. In at least oneembodiment, the sound emitting device is activated for a specifiedperiod of time, e.g., one minute. In some embodiments, the soundemitting device may be deactivated by the remote control based uponadditional commands received from the controlled device.

The sound emitting device may also be deactivated based upon inputprovided to the remote control by a user. For example, the remotecontrol may activate the sound emitting device upon command from thecontrolled device. A user may subsequently press one or more buttons ofthe remote control while the sound emitting device is activated.Responsive to the input, the remote control may deactivate the soundemitting device.

In at least one embodiment, the remote control may include a visualindicator, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), a flashing strobelight, a display screen (e.g., liquid crystal diode (LCD) screen). Theremote control receives a response to a query from the controlleddevice, the response requesting activation of the visual indicator.Responsive to the request from the controlled device, the remote controlactivates the visual indicator to present information to a user. Forexample, the remote control may blink one or more LEDs responsive to arequest from the controlled device.

In some embodiments, the remote control may include both sound emittingdevices and light emitting devices, such as a speaker and one or moreLEDs. Thus, the remote control may output information via both thevisual and audio indicator devices responsive to a request from thecontrolled device. The request may include information specifying thetype of audio and visual data to be outputted by the remote control.

The query to the controlled device may be performed according to apre-determined schedule or may be performed responsive to particularactions or events. In at least one embodiment, a remote controlperiodically queries a controlled device according to a pre-determinedschedule to download various types of information from the controlleddevice. For example, the remote control may query the controlled devicefor status updates as part of a power saving feature. As appropriate,the controlled device may request the remote control to activate theaudio or visual indicators in response to a query.

For example, a user may desire to locate a lost remote control. The usermay provide input to the controlled device requesting to locate theremote control. The controlled device generates a request to activatethe sound emitting device of the remote control. Responsive to asubsequently received query from the remote control, the controlleddevice may transmit the request to the remote control. Responsive to therequest, the remote control provides an indicator via the sound emittingdevice or other device. The user may then utilize the indicator tolocate the lost remote control.

A controlled device may also request to activate an indicator of theremote control responsive to timers associated with the controlleddevice. For example, a controlled device may activate a speaker of aremote control to provide an alarm clock function to a user. Thus, thealarm clock function may be utilized to remind a user of events that areindependent of the controlled device. In another example, the alarmclock function may be utilized to remind a user regarding eventsassociated with the controlled device. For example, a televisionreceiver may include an alarm function that alerts the user regarding aselected television program or other content available through thetelevision receiver. The sound emitting device of the remote control maybe utilized to provide an indicator to the user regarding the alarmfunction.

In at least one embodiment, the indicator of the remote control may beutilized to provide the user with information regarding events oractions associated with the controlled device. For example, a televisionreceiver may include functionality allowing users to exchange messagesor other communications. If the television receiver receives a messagefor a user, then the television receiver can request the remote controlto provide indication of the message to the user. For example, theremote control may output a specified sound responsive to receipt of themessage by the television receiver or responsive to receipt of a phonecall to the user's telephone.

In at least one embodiment, different sounds may be associated withdifferent users of the controlled device, different actions, events orfunctionalities of the controlled device. Thus, the controlled devicemay specify different sounds, frequencies or tones in the request to theremote control. For example, different users may set different reminderson a television receiver for different television programming. Areminder for a first user may be associated with a first tone, whereas areminder for a second user may be associated with a second tone. Thus,different users may be able to identify their indicators outputted fromthe remote control as differentiated from indicators for other users ofthe controlled device.

The controlled device is described herein as an entertainment device.However, it is to be appreciated that the teachings described herein maybe applied to other combinations of remote controls and controlleddevices. For example, the teachings described herein may be applied tohousehold appliances, computers and wireless peripherals (e.g.,keyboards, mice and pointing devices), automobile keyless entry systems,child locator systems and the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an entertainment system 100. Theentertainment system 100 presents content to a user 108. In at least oneembodiment, the content presented to the user 108 includes anaudio/video stream, such as a television program, movie or other storedor recorded content and the like. The entertainment system 100 includesan entertainment device 102, a presentation device 104 and a remotecontrol 106. Each of these components is discussed in greater detailbelow. The entertainment system 100 may include other devices,components or elements not illustrated for the sake of brevity.

The entertainment device 102 is operable to receive content from one ormore content sources (not shown in FIG. 1), and to present the receivedcontent to the user 108 on the associated presentation device 104. In atleast one embodiment, the presentation device 104 is a display device(e.g., a television) configured to display content to the user 108. Theentertainment device 102 may receive an audio/video stream in any format(e.g., analog or digital format), and output the audio/video stream forpresentation by the presentation device 104. The entertainment device102 may be further configured to display menus and other informationthat allow a user 108 to control the output of content by theentertainment device 102. In at least one embodiment, the entertainmentdevice 102 is a set-top box (e.g., a satellite or cable televisionconverter box), digital video recorder (DVR) or other similar devicethat processes and provides one or more audio and/or video outputstreams to the presentation device 104 for presentation to the user 108.In some embodiments, the entertainment device 102 and the presentationdevice 104 may be integrated as a device combining the functionality ofa display device and a set-top box, digital video recorder (DVR) or thelike.

The entertainment device 102 has multiple operating states,corresponding with different available functionalities. For example, afirst operating state may correspond with a powered-on state, whereas asecond operating state may correspond with a powered-off state. In someembodiments, a first operating state is associated with theentertainment device 102 outputting a menu navigable with the remotecontrol 106.

The remote control 106 may be any system or apparatus configured toremotely control the output of content by the entertainment device 102.For example, the remote control 106 may communicate commands to theentertainment device 102 requesting to playback content, temporally movethrough content (e.g., fast-forward or reverse), adjust the volume,access electronic programming guides, menus and the like. In someembodiments, the remote control 106 may additionally be configured toremotely control the presentation device 104. The remote control 106 maycommunicate with the entertainment device 102 and/or the presentationdevice 104 through any type of wireless communication medium, such asinfrared (IR) signals or radio-frequency (RF) signals.

The remote control 106 is further operable to query the entertainmentdevice 102 for information and other data. For example, the remotecontrol 106 may query the entertainment device 102 for operating statusinformation, firmware updates, control command sets and other requests.In at least one embodiment, the queries transmitted by the remotecontrol 106 may request general information from the entertainmentdevice 102. For example, the remote control 106 may request anyinformation to be transmitted from the entertainment device 102, e.g.,status requests, commands, software/firmware updates and the like. Thus,the entertainment device 102 may initiate transmission of any data readyto be transmitted to the remote control 106. For example, theentertainment device 102 may transmit a status update, a firmware updateand request to activate an indicator of the remote control responsive toa particular query.

In some embodiments, the remote control 106 may request specificinformation, such as an operating status of the entertainment device102. Thus, the entertainment device 102 may transmit the requestedinformation, and may queue other data to be transmitted until a latertime.

Responsive to a query, the entertainment device 102 may transmitrequests to the remote control 106 to undertake specific actions. Forexample, the entertainment device 102 may request the remote control 106to activate a sound emitting device, vibration inducing device, lightemitting device or other visual indicator. In response to some queries,the entertainment device 102 may request the remote control 106 todeactivate the sound emitting device or other indicator.

In at least one embodiment, a query may be transmitted responsive to aspecified event. For example, a query may be transmitted a specifiedperiod of time after the last receipt of input by the remote control106. In another example, the remote control 106 may transmit a queryresponsive to receipt of a particular type of input, e.g., a particularbutton press. In another example, the remote control 106 may transmit aquery to the entertainment device 102 regarding whether to deactivate asound emitting device responsive to a request by the entertainmentdevice 102 to activate the same.

In at least one embodiment, the queries may be conducted according to apre-determined schedule. For example, the remote control 106 may querythe entertainment device 102 every two seconds requesting any statuschanges or other data to be exchanged. Thus, the remote control 106 maydetermine whether to enter a low power mode state based upon the queryresponse.

For example, the remote control 106 may be configured to periodicallyenter a limited power mode state (e.g., a sleep mode state or stand-bymode state) to conserve battery power. More particularly, components ofthe remote control 106, such as processors, user input circuitry,transceivers, backlighting, display screens and the like may becommanded to enter a limited power mode state when the functionality ofthe components is not needed by the entertainment system 100. Forexample, the remote control 106 may enter a sleep mode state when theentertainment device 102 is powered off. Particular components of theremote control may also enter a limited power mode state if theentertainment device 102 is in an operational state that does notinvolve soliciting input from the user 108 via the remote control 106.

In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106 queries theentertainment device 102 to determine whether to enter a limited powermode state while operating in an active mode state. For example, theremote control 106 may operate in an active mode state that includesutilizing a touch pad input device in an active mode state to solicituser input for controlling a menu outputted by the entertainment device102 for display on the presentation device 104. While the touch padinput device operates in the active mode state, the remote control 106may periodically query the entertainment device 102 to determine whetherthe entertainment device 102 is still operating in a state that utilizesthe touch pad input device. If the operating state of the entertainmentdevice 102 does not need to utilize the touch pad input device (e.g.,the entertainment device 102 is no longer outputting a menu), then theremote control 106 may command the touch pad input device to enter alimited power mode state.

In another embodiment, the remote control 106 may operate in an activemode state, and may query the remote control and receive a responseindicating that the entertainment device 102 has been powered off. Forexample, the user 108 may have powered off the entertainment device 102using a front console of the entertainment device 102. Thus, thecomponents of the remote control 106 may enter a limited power modestate, periodically waking to query the entertainment device 102 foroperational mode changes (e.g., powering on the entertainment device102). If an operational mode change is detected by the remote control106, then appropriate components of the remote control 106 may becommanded to enter an active mode state corresponding with theoperational state of the entertainment device 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a remote control 106A of theentertainment system 100 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 will be discussed inreference to the entertainment system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. Theremote control 106A includes a wireless transceiver 202, user inputcircuitry 204, control logic 206 and a sound emitting device 208. Eachof these components is discussed in greater detail below. The remotecontrol 106A may contain other devices, such as display screens,backlighting and non-volatile memory, not mentioned herein for the sakeof brevity.

100321 The user input circuitry 204 is operable to receive and/orprocess user input from the user 108 (see FIG. 1). In at least oneembodiment, the user input circuitry 204 is a keypad including a set ofbuttons. The user 108 may utilize the keypad to input channel numbers,control the volume of the entertainment device 102, navigate menus,manipulate the output of content by the entertainment device 102 and/orcontrol other functions of the entertainment device 102 and/or thepresentation device 104.

In at least one embodiment, the user input circuitry 204 comprises apositional information input device configured to solicit positionalinformation from the user 108. The positional information input devicereceives motion input from the user 108 and translates the motion inputinto positional information utilized to generate commands for theentertainment device 102. For example, the positional information may beutilized to navigate an onscreen menu outputted by the entertainmentdevice 102. More particularly, the motion input is utilized to positiona cursor of the menu, and/or to make selections within the menu. A touchpad is one example of a positional information input device. In someembodiments, motion input may be utilized to change channels of theentertainment device 102. It is to be appreciated that motion input maybe utilized to generate commands for a plurality of functions of theentertainment device 102. Exemplary motion detector devices includemechanical switches, gyroscopes and accelerometers. Motion detectors maybe utilized that detect motion, vibration or acceleration among anynumber of axes. For example, a three element accelerometer may beutilized for detecting accelerations along an x, y and z axis.

The wireless transceiver 202 is operable to bi-directionally communicatewith the entertainment device 102 and/or the presentation device 104.The wireless transceiver 202 may utilize any type of wireless protocoland wireless communication medium, including RF or IR key codes orcommands, to communicate with the entertainment device 102 (see FIG. 1)and/or the presentation device 104.

The wireless transceiver 202 is operable to transmit a key code and/orcommand message corresponding with user input to the entertainmentdevice 102. The wireless transceiver 202 is also operable to exchangeother data with the entertainment device 102, such as operational statusqueries and responses. For example, the wireless transceiver 202 maytransmit queries to the entertainment device 102 responsive to apre-defined schedule. The remote control 106A may also receive IRdatabase key codes, RF database key codes or firmware updates from theentertainment device 102 responsive to the queries. In one at least onescenario, the wireless transceiver 202 receives data from theentertainment device 102 requesting to activate the sound emittingdevice 208. Data received from the entertainment device 102 by thewireless transceiver 202 is transferred to the control logic 206 forprocessing.

The control logic 206 is operable to control the operation of the remotecontrol 106A. The control logic 206 may be a single processing device ora plurality of processing devices that cooperatively operate to controlthe operation of the remote control 106. The operation of the remotecontrol 106 may be controlled by instructions executable by the controllogic 206. Some examples of instructions are software, program code, andfirmware.

The control logic 206 is operable to generate control commands for theentertainment device 102 responsive to the input provided to the userinput circuitry 204 by the user 108 (see FIG. 1). The control commandsmay be in the form of key codes or other commands that are compatiblewith the entertainment device 102. The control commands may also allowfor the control of the presentation device 104. The control logic 206 isalso operable to process data received from the entertainment device102. For example, the control logic 206 may process data received fromthe entertainment device 102 and activate the sound emitting device 208to output sounds, such as tones, music, speech and the like.

The sound emitting device 208 may comprise a speaker, a buzzer or othertype of device operable to emit sounds perceptible to the user 108 (seeFIG. 1). The sound emitting device 208 may include appropriate circuitryfor outputting different sounds, tones, frequencies and the like. Insome embodiments, the sound emitting device 208 may include voicesynthesizer circuitry for outputting synthetic speech data.

A request from the entertainment device 102 (see FIG. 1) may specifyparameters for activation of the sound emitting device 208. For example,the request may specify the tone, frequency, duration, sound or speech(if appropriate) and the like. In some embodiments, the request mayspecify the purpose of the indicator and the control logic 206 mayprocess the request to determine parameters for activating the soundemitting device 208.

For example, a request from the entertainment device 102 to activate thesound emitting device 208 may be responsive to input from the user 108requesting to locate the remote control 106A. The control logic 206 mayprocess the request to determine which tone and frequency to outputbased on the information in the request. In at least one embodiment, thecontrol logic 206 is operable to activate the sound emitting device 208for a specified period of time, e.g., one minute. In some embodiments,the user 108 may deactivate the sound emitting device 208 by providinginput to either the remote control 106A, via the user input circuitry204, or via the entertainment device 102.

For example, to deactivate the sound emitting device 208 the user 108may press one or more buttons of the user input circuitry 204. Thecontrol logic 206 then processes the user input and responsivelydeactivates the sound emitting device 208. If the user 108 providesinput via a front panel of the entertainment device 102 or via anotherremote control for the entertainment device 102, then the entertainmentdevice 102 transmits a request to the remote control 106A to deactivatethe sound emitting device 208. The control logic 206 processes therequest and deactivates the sound emitting device 208. In at least oneembodiment, the request to deactivate the sound emitting device 208 istransmitted to the remote control 106A responsive to a query from thewireless transceiver 202.

In some embodiments, the remote control 106A may activate the soundemitting device 208 responsive to other requests from the entertainmentdevice 102. For example, the sound emitting device 208 may be activatedas an alarm clock or reminder set by the user 108 or as a reminder fortelevision programming to be received by the entertainment device 102.In other embodiments, the entertainment device 102 may requestactivation of the sound emitting device 208 to signal the completion ofa task performed by the entertainment device 102, such as completion ofa download of content, download or arrival of emails, chat informationand the like. The entertainment device 102 may also request theactivation of the sound emitting device 208 to signal the success orfailure of pairing or depairing of the remote control 106A with theentertainment device 102.

In at least one embodiment, the remote control 106A may include othertypes of indicators, such as light emitting devices or other displaydevices. For example, the remote control 106A may include LEDs or otherlights which can be flashed to indicate information to the user 108. Inone example, the user input circuitry 204 includes buttons withintegrated LEDs. Thus, the buttons of the user input circuitry may beflashed to indicate information to the user 108. The visual indicatorsmay be activated by the control logic 206 in association with the soundemitting device 208 or independently, depending on desired designcriteria.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a flow chart for a querying processperformed by the remote control 106A and the entertainment device 102 ofFIG. 2. The operation of FIG. 3 will be described in reference to theentertainment system 100 described in FIGS. 1 and 2. The process of FIG.3 may include other operations not illustrated for the sake of brevity.

As described above, the remote control 106A may periodically query theentertainment device 102 for any type of information, such as statusupdates and commands from the entertainment device 102, rather thanlistening for the entertainment device 102 to transmit the informationto the remote control 106A. The left side of the flow chart illustratesa process performed by the remote control 106A to query theentertainment device 102. Similarly, the right side of the flow chartillustrates a process performed by the entertainment device 102 toreceive and respond to queries from the remote control 106A.

Periodically, the remote control 106A places the wireless transceiver202 in a transmit mode (operation 302A). At the same time, theentertainment device 102 transceiver operates in a receive mode, readyto receive messages and commands from the wireless transceiver 202 ofthe remote control 106A (operation 302B).

In operation 304A, the wireless transceiver 202 transmits a querymessage to the entertainment device 102. After transmitting the querymessage, the wireless transceiver 202 of the remote control 106Aswitches to a receive mode, ready to receive a response to the queryfrom the entertainment device (operation 306A). The entertainment device102 receives the query message (operation 304B) and switches thetransceiver of the entertainment device to a transmit mode to respond tothe query (operation 306B).

The entertainment device 102 identifies any information to betransmitted to the remote control 106A and transmits a response messageto the remote control 106A (operation 308B). For example, theentertainment device 102 may identify firmware updates, power statechanges, configuration changes, operational mode changes and requests toactivate the sound emitting device 208 of the remote control 106A andtransmit such information in the response. In at least one scenario, theentertainment device 102 may transmit a message to the wirelesstransceiver 202 indicating that there is no information to convey. Aftertransmitting the message, the wireless transceiver of the entertainmentdevice 102 switches to a receive mode (operation 310B), ready to receiveanother query from the remote control 106A and/or a command from theremote control 106A (operation 312B).

The wireless transceiver 202 of the remote control 106A receives theresponse message from the remote control 106A and transmits the messageto the control logic 206 for further processing (operation 308A). Thewireless transceiver 202 then turns off or otherwise enters a low powermode state until the remote control 106A is ready to transmit anotherquery message (operation 310A). The control logic 206 then processes theresponse message as appropriate (operation 312A). For example, thecontrol logic 206 may command the sound emitting device 208 to emit asound responsive to the message from the entertainment device 102.

Because the remote control 106A does not operate the wirelesstransceiver 202 in an active mode at all times, the battery life of theremote control 106A is increased. Operating the wireless transceiver 202in an active mode at all times is power intensive and significantlyshortens the life of the battery powering the remote control 106A.However, as described above, the remote control 106A maybi-directionally communicate with the entertainment device 102 andreceive information as appropriate, such as requests to activate thesound emitting device 208, without activating the wireless transceiver202 to listen for such requests at unnecessary times. Rather, the remotecontrol 106A determines when to access such requests and other data fromthe entertainment device 102, and activates the wireless transceiver 202as appropriate to exchange such data, conserving battery power andincreasing the battery life for the battery of the remote control 106A.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the variousfunctional elements 302 through 308 shown as operable within the remotecontrol 106A may be combined into fewer discrete elements or may bebroken up into a larger number of discrete functional elements as amatter of design choice. Thus, the particular functional decompositionsuggested by FIG. 3 is intended merely as exemplary of one possiblefunctional decomposition of elements within the remote control 106A.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an entertainment device 102A ofFIG. 1. More particularly, FIG. 4 illustrates an entertainment device102A embodied as a television receiver (e.g., a set-top box). However,it is to be appreciated that the entertainment device 102A may compriseany type of device that presents any type of presentation content,including DVD players, audio receivers, audio playback devices, videoservers and internet connected video playback devices. FIG. 4 will bediscussed in reference to the entertainment system 100 illustrated inFIG. 1. The entertainment device 102A includes control logic 402, awireless transceiver 404 and user input circuitry 406. Each of thesecomponents will be discussed in greater detail below. The entertainmentdevice 102A may include other components or devices not illustrated forthe sake of brevity.

The control logic 402 is operable for controlling the operation of theentertainment device 102A. The control logic 402 may also be referred toherein as an output interface for video content. As used herein, controllogic 402 refers to a single processing device or a group ofinter-operational processing devices. The operation of the control logic402 may be controlled'by instructions executable by the control logic402. Some examples of instructions are software, program code, andfirmware. Additionally, the operation of particular functionalities ofthe control logic 402 is controllable based on commands received from aremote control 106 (see FIG. 1). In at least one embodiment, the controllogic 402 includes at least a first operating state and a secondoperating state. The operating states may be of any type as describedabove.

In at least one embodiment, the control logic 402 is operable forreceiving presentation content, e.g., video content. The control logic402 may be operable for receiving and tuning any type of video content.For example, the control logic 402 may receive an over-the-air broadcastsignal, an internet protocol video stream, a direct broadcast satellitesignal or a cable television signal. The control logic 402 may receiveor retrieve content from a storage medium, such as an optical disk,internal or external hard drive, a portable storage device (e.g.,universal serial bus (USB) memory sticks) and the like. The controllogic 402 may also receive content from external servers, such as videoservers, that are communicatively coupled to the entertainment device102A over the internet or other type of data networks.

The control logic 402 may operate to perform various signal and dataprocessing functions such as demodulation, decoding, decryption and thelike on data signals received via any type of network interface, togenerate an appropriate format video stream for output to thepresentation device 104 (see FIG. 1). The control logic 402 may comprisemultiple components, such as a demodulator, an audio decoder, a videodecoder, a data decoder or a graphics processor to generate the videostream. Commands received from the remote control 106 are operable tocontrol the output of audio and video content by the control logic 402.For example, the wireless transceiver 404 may receive a key code causingcontrol logic 402 to manipulate the output of the video contentresponsive to the key code. The control logic 402 operates to output avideo stream for presentation by the presentation device 104. The videostream generated by the control logic 402 may include menus, electronicprogramming guides and the like that are navigable using commandsreceived from the remote control 106.

The wireless transceiver 404 is operable to wirelessly receive and/ortransmit data to the remote control 106. The wireless transceiver 404may communicate with the remote control 106 utilizing any type of IR orRF communication link. In at least one embodiment, the wirelesstransceiver 404 receives a key code from the remote control 106, andresponsively provides the key code to the control logic 402. Thewireless transceiver 404 is further operable to exchange data with theremote control 106, such as IR database code updates, firmware updatesand the like.

The wireless transceiver 404 is further operable to exchange operationalstate queries and operational state responses with the remote control106. For example, the remote control 106 transmits an operational statequery to the wireless transceiver 404. The wireless transceiver 404receives the operational state response to the query from the controllogic 402 and transmits the operational state response to the remotecontrol 106. Thus, the remote control 106 utilizes the operational stateresponse, as described above, to determine whether to transition to orfrom a limited power mode state.

The wireless transceiver 404 is also operational to transmit other datato the remote control 106. For example, the wireless transceiver 404 maytransmit a command, generated by the control logic 402, requesting theremote control 106 to activate an audible or visual indicator, such as aspeaker. A request to activate an indicator may be transmittedresponsive to a query from the remote control 106. In other words, ifthe control logic 402 generates a request to activate an indicator, thewireless transceiver 404 and/or control logic 402 queues such requestuntil a query is received from the remote control 106.

The user input circuitry 406 may comprise any type of input device, suchas one or more buttons, a keypad, a touch panel or touch screen and thelike for receiving input from the user 108. In one embodiment, the userinput circuitry 406 includes a lost remote recovery button by which auser 108 may request to locate the remote control 106. Responsive toinput provided by the user 108, the control logic 402 generates arequest to the remote control 106 to activate an audio or visualindicator. The wireless transceiver 404 then transmits such request tothe remote control 106 during the next cycle of query/response exchangesbetween the entertainment device 102A and the remote control 106. Forexample, the remote control 106 may query the entertainment device 102Aaccording to a pre-determined schedule, such as five seconds betweenqueries.

The control logic 402 may also generate requests to activate theindicator of the remote control 106 based on input from other remotecontrols. For example, the entertainment device 102A may be associatedwith multiple remote controls, and a user may desire to locate amisplaced remote control 106. The user 108 may utilize another remotecontrol or buttons of the entertainment device 102A to navigate menusoutputted by the control logic 402 to request to locate the lost remotecontrol 106. The control logic 402 responsively generates a request forthe remote control 106 to activate the sound emitting device.

In at least one embodiment, the control logic 402 generates a request toactivate the indicator of the remote control and specifies parametersfor activation of the indicator. For example, the control logic 402 mayspecify tone, frequency, duration and the like for activation of a soundemitting device of the remote control 106. Such parameters may bedetermined based on the reason for activating the indicator, userdefined preferences and the like. The control logic 402 may alsogenerate a request to deactivate the indicator. For example, the controllogic 402 may request the remote control 106 to deactivate a soundemitting device after a specified period of time or based on receipt ofadditional user input, via the user input circuitry 406 or via anotherremote control.

As described above, an indicator of a remote control 106 may beactivated to indicate alarms, reminders and the like. In at least oneembodiment, the control logic 402 may operate timers which indicatespecific events, such as alarms or receipt of specific programs. Uponactivation of these timers, the wireless transceiver 404 may transmit arequest to the remote control to activate the sound emitting device orother indicator of the remote control.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a process for locating a lost remotecontrol. It is to be appreciated that the process may be applied toremote controls for any type of controlled device. The process of FIG. 5is not all inclusive, and may include other operations not illustratedfor the sake of brevity.

The process includes receiving user input, at the controlled device, theuser input requesting to locate a lost remote control for the controlleddevice (operation 402). In at least one embodiment, the input may bereceived via the controlled device directly, e.g., from buttons of thecontrolled device. The input may also be received by the controlleddevice indirectly, e.g., via another remote control.

The process further includes receiving a first query message at thecontrolled device from the remote control (operation 504). The processfurther includes transmitting a first reply message to the remotecontrol from the controlled device responsive to the first query message(operation 506). The first reply message references the user inputrequesting to locate the lost remote control. Additionally, the firstreply message may include a request to activate the sound emittingdevice and/or may specify parameters for activating the sound emittingdevice.

The process further includes activating a sound emitting device of theremote control responsive to the reply message received from thecontrolled device by the remote control (operation 508). If the remotecontrol includes other indicators, such as visual indicators, then theprocess may optionally include activating the other indicators. Duringthe period of time when the sound emitting device has been activated,the remote control may perform additional queries of the controlleddevice. Responsive to one of the additional queries, the controlleddevice may request the remote control to deactivate the sound emittingdevice.

In at least one embodiment, the additional queries may be performedbased on the original reply, e.g., the remote control transmits a secondquery a specified time after the remote control receives the originalreply. In other words, the query schedule is modified based on thecontent of the reply. In another embodiment, the remote controltransmits a second query according to a pre-determined schedule that isindependent of the request. In other words, the query schedule mayremain the same regardless of the content of the reply.

Although specific embodiments were described herein, the scope of theinvention is not limited to those specific embodiments. The scope of theinvention is defined by the following claims and any equivalentstherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A remote control comprising: a light emittingdevice; a battery; a wireless transceiver configured to be powered bythe battery; an output interface; and control logic comprising at leastone processing device communicatively coupled to the wirelesstransceiver and communicatively coupled to the output interface, thecontrol logic operable to: from a limited power mode state,automatically turn the wireless transceiver of the remote control on toa full power mode state and to initially place the wireless transceiverof the remote control into a transmit mode to transmit a query messagefrom the remote control to a controlled device, wherein the controllogic is operable perform said turning-on of the transceiver, saidinitial placing into transmit mode, and said transmitting of the querymessage without any input to said remote control by a user, and whereinthe operation of turning-on of the transceiver comprises supplyingadditional battery power to the transceiver that initially had limitedbattery power supplied thereto; subsequent to initially placing thewireless transceiver into the transmit mode, automatically and withoutinput to said remote control by the user switch the transceiver of theremote control from the transmit mode to a receive mode to therebyreceive a reply message sent by the controlled device in response to thequery message; identify that the reply message includes a request toactivate the light emitting device of the remote control; activate thelight emitting device of the remote control responsive to the request;subsequent to and in response to receiving the reply message,automatically return the wireless transceiver of the remote control tothe limited power mode state after the reply message is received tothereby conserve power in the battery, wherein the operation ofreturning to the limited power mode state of the transceiver comprisesremoving at least some of the supply of battery power from thetransceiver so that the transceiver returns to its initial state ofhaving limited battery power supplied thereto, and said returning isperformed without any input to said remote control by the user.
 2. Theremote control of claim 1, wherein the control logic is operable toactivate the light emitting device for a specified period of time basedon a type of the request.
 3. The remote control of claim 1 wherein thecontrol logic is configured to turn the wireless transceiver on and todirect the transmission of the query message without input from a user.4. The remote control of claim 1 wherein the control logic is configuredto maintain the remote control in a limited power mode wherein, atregular time intervals, the wireless transceiver is automatically turnedon and query messages are transmitted, and wherein the wirelesstransceiver is automatically turned off between the transmissions of thesuccessive query messages to thereby conserve battery power while theremote control remains in the limited power mode.
 5. The remote controlof claim 1, wherein the light emitting device includes one or more oflight emitting diodes, flashing strobe lights, or liquid crystal diodescreens.
 6. The remote control of claim 1, wherein the wirelesstransceiver is further operable to transmit a second query message tothe controlled device and receive a second reply message from thecontrolled device and wherein the control logic deactivates the lightemitting device responsive to the second reply message.
 7. The remotecontrol of claim 1, further comprising: at least one further lightemitting device; wherein the control logic is further operable toactivate the further light emitting device responsive to the request. 8.The remote control of claim 1, further comprising: user input circuitrycommunicatively coupled to the control logic, the user input circuitryoperable to receive user input; wherein the control logic is operable todeactivate the light emitting device responsive to the user input.
 9. Amethod of locating a lost remote control, the method comprising:receiving user input, at a controlled device, the user input requestingto locate a lost remote control for the controlled device, wherein theuser input comprises a user pressing a button of the controlled device;in response to receiving the user input, generating at the controlleddevice a command to the remote control to activate a light emittingdevice of the remote control; subsequent to generating the command,receiving a first query message at the controlled device from the remotecontrol, wherein the first query message is automatically generated bythe remote control without any input to said remote control by the user,wherein the first query message requests any commands or otherinformation from the controlled device to be transmitted to the remotecontrol; in response to the controlled device receiving the first querymessage from the remote control, the controlled device transmitting afirst reply message comprising the generated command to the remotecontrol, the first reply message indicating that the user inputrequesting to locate the lost remote control was received at thecontrolled device to thereby activate the light emitting device of theremote control responsive to the reply message transmitted by thecontrolled device to the remote control.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising: receiving a second query message at the controlleddevice from the remote control; transmitting a second reply message fromthe controlled device to the remote control; and deactivating the lightemitting device of the remote control responsive to the second replymessage received from the controlled device by the remote control. 11.The method of claim 9, wherein a duration of time between thetransmission of the first query message and the second query message isdetermined based on a schedule that is independent of the content of thefirst reply message.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving theuser input further comprises: receiving the user input through a buttonof the controlled device.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein receivingthe user input further comprises: receiving the user input through asecond remote control for the controlled device.
 14. The method of claim9, further comprising: deactivating the light emitting device of theremote control after elapse of a specified period of time followingactivation of the light emitting device.
 15. A method executable by aremote control device powered by a battery to assist a user in locatingthe remote control device, the method comprising: automaticallyactivating a wireless transceiver of the remote control, without anyinput by a user of the remote control, wherein said automaticallyactivating comprises supplying additional battery power to thetransceiver that was initially in a limited power mode state;automatically transmitting a query message from the remote control to acontrolled device via the wireless transceiver, wherein said activatingof the transceiver and said transmitting of the query message isperformed by the remote control device without any input to said remotecontrol device by a user; receiving a reply message from the controlleddevice that is responsive to the query message and that includes arequest to activate a light emitting device of the remote control, thereply message comprising a command to activate the light emitting devicethat had been generated by the controlled device prior to the remotecontrol automatically transmitting the query message; activating thelight emitting device of the remote control responsive to the request;subsequent to and in response to receiving the reply message,automatically deactivating the wireless transceiver of the remotecontrol after the reply message is received to thereby conserve power inthe battery, wherein the step of deactivating comprises removing atleast some of the supply of battery power from the transceiver so thatthe transceiver returns to its initial limited power mode state ofhaving limited battery power supplied thereto, said deactivating beingperformed without any input to said remote control device by the user.16. The method of claim 15 wherein the request to activate the lightemitting device is generated by the controlled device in response to auser input received at the controlled device indicating a desire tolocate the remote control device.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinthe user input is provided to the controlled device via a second remotecontrol.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the controlled deviceoperates a reminder timer regarding a specified event, and wherein thefirst reply message instructs the second control logic to activate thelight emitting device based on the reminder timer.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the specified event comprises a reminder for atelevision program receivable by the controlled device.
 20. The methodof claim 19, wherein the reminder is associated with one of a pluralityof users of the entertainment device, and wherein the first replymessage specifies a particular tone to be played by the light emittingdevice depending on the particular one of the plurality of users that isassociated with the reminder.